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It’s probably the best time to be a mobile gaming enthusiast in India since the options at disposal to a potential mobile phone buyer are just so many. Out of all the options available, a potential customer has the option to either go for an average budget-friendly mobile, which comes accordingly with satisfactory features but nothing exceptional. Otherwise, the range of mobiles available over 25-30,000 are just tremendous in what they’ve to offer. Sure the price to be paid is higher but so are the impactful features. We review one such mobile phone in Asus Rog Phone 2.
Quick summary:
Gamers will love it. Incomparable to any other phone in gaming experience.
The top section feels heavier than the bottom, you can really feel it while holding the phone.
One hand operation might be uncomfortable due to the size of the phone.
Air trigger buttons come handy while playing games. 
Not a wall hugger. Battery doesn’t give up even after heavy gaming.
Display is really bright and sharp. 120Hz adds to the good viewing experience.
Two speakers at the top and bottom gives the loudest sound but not the clearest
Phone call quality is great compared to phones in the segment.
There’s a slight lag in performance when multi tasking and switching between apps.
No wireless charging or waterproofing.
Great pricing for the phone but can’t say the same for accessories.
Performance and Gaming Experience
We start off with the gaming experience on the mobile because Asus is promoting it primarily as a gaming phone. For starters, any gaming phone just cannot suffice to be successful until and unless it has a strong processor to back good performance.
As the phone is backed with a heavy size, primarily due to it’s chipset and battery, it’s not your usual lightweight mobile. It took us some time in getting used to the weight but it doesn’t really pose much threat when you’re gaming with 2 hands. So, yes, the weight of the phone does take a little time in getting used to.
Since it’s a gaming heavy phone, the results were as we expected. The quick performance of the mobile isn’t just restricted to games performance but the overall speed of opening multiple apps, browsing, watching videos or just simply making your way through different apps – the beast of a speed that this mobile provides is incredible.
There is an X Mode which we didn’t really use but the purpose of the same is to ensure that you’re given a boosted performance, if in case graphic heavy games like PUBG tend to slow down. Remember though, using X Mode will have a major impact on the battery life, which will drain faster with X Mode.
Rog Phone 2 runs on Snapdragon 855 Plus Chipset, it is based on this that the phone is able to give you enough power to play graphic intensive games without any drop in FPS, it does however heat up the phone too much at times, but that’s only when you’re playing games for long hours.
The ultrasonic air triggers feature allows you to experience gaming like you’d on a console, it allows in-game features like vibration which adds to the whole game playing experience. It’s safe to say that Asus has given much time in developing a solid phone for game enthusiasts.
Display
With a 6.5 inch screen, massive for a mobile phone that supports gaming, there’s very little to complain in terms of the viewing angles. It’s a FULL HD+ resolution screen with HRR10 colour support system. The colours are popping and will add to the gaming experience on the mobile, this is an area where other similar good gaming experience promising mobiles lack behind – screen quality is a major aspect to relish quality gaming performance.
120HZ refresh rate is far better than One Plus 7 PRO, leaving you in awe of the whole experience that the mobile provides.
In terms of security, the phone provides both the fingerprint sensor and the face-unlock technology. The face-unlock worked really well in our experience while the finger-print sensor did pose a few concerns since it required multiple attempts to unlock at times.
Camera
Being a phone targeted primarily towards gaming audiences, camera isn’t something that’d be a point of focus for target buyers. But, Asus hasn’t lagged behind in this department and has given us satisfactory camera to go with the gaming-friendly specs.
48 MP Sony IMX586 sensor camera works as the primary camera on the phone, whereas 13 MP wide-angle camera acts as the perfect support to the primary camera. The front camera is of 24 MP, which is very much satisfactory for the selfie needs.
We found the picture quality to be crystal clear during the day-time. The array of shooting modes available will keep the photographer in you highly intrigued. Switching between cameras while recording though isn’t available, which is a bummer.
In closing up on the photos taken during day-time, we observed great detail which speaks highly of how Asus hasn’t lacked behind in giving a quality camera on a phone, which is otherwise promoted as primarily for gaming. The potential buyers would definitely want to consider the Rog Phone 2 for it’s stellar camera performance too. The low light images were good, nothing too exceptional but we weren’t expecting much from that either. The 24 MP selfie camera is quite good and we actually liked how the selfies came out.
Camera Samples
Battery
A gaming phone without a beast of a battery is just simply not plausible. To back their claim of a good gaming performance on Rog Phone 2, Asus has given a 6000mAH battery, which just doesn’t drain, even with hours of graphic-intensive gaming.
Multiple fast charging methods are supported on the Rog Phone2. With 18W charger, we found that a full charge took anywhere between 90-120 minutes (0-100%). With the optional 30W charger (priced at 1,999) the charging will definitely be quicker, so that’s something to consider at point of purchase.
Verdict
We can conclude that with the above aspects in mind, the Rog Phone 2 is a strong choice in this segment of phones. The 37,999 version, the starting one, is particularly the one which is going to take the market by storm. We’re however unsure whether the most expensive model, priced at 60,000 will be able to push buyers because above 50-55,000 there are just so many higher end versions available of brands that are 1) more competent in the gaming mobile segment and 2) provide slightly better features such as waterproof and wireless charging.
At 37,999 this is a steal. If you’re a gaming enthusiast or just generally want a mobile with a solid display and quality camera, Asus Rog Phone 2 is what you must consider strongly.
